The Obsidian Dagger by Catherine Webb

I was looking forward to this book and the back cover made me believe I was in for a rare old treat. The book is set in the Victorian era and the characters are battling dark inhuman forces. The lead Character Horatio Lyle is a mix of Sherlock Holmes and a slightly distracter professorial type. I was disappointed I have to admit though as I felt the book did at times lose the plot and the description of the characters was very in depth one minute and the next they were glossed over. there did not seem to be much consistency. The story was reasonable and the plot good however I felt the book lacked depth and I was never very sure about what the real issue was. This is the second installment of Horatio Lyle's adventures and I wish I had read the first book before this as I a sure it would have made more sense. I give this 6/10. I will not be rushing back to this series.

JB

The Obsidian Dagger was a really good book. It was about this detective who was looking after two children named Tess and Thomas. His boss, Lord Lincoln, then made him go onto a case where two people had been murdered on a boat by someone or something. The book is set in the Victorian age when the fist chemicals were being found so he used a lot of them in the story. The book at times did drift away from the plot and the description went into so much depth that it was hard to understand it all together. I think one problem was that I hadn't read the first book as this was the second book in the series. I give this book 7/10 as as I said it did get hard to understand at times although overall I thought it was quite a good book.

MB

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

This is one of the most moving books that I have read this year. The story is set during the second World war in Germany and revolves around the life of a young boy Bruno. Bruno's father, an important man who is very close to a man called the Fury (or that is what Bruno calls him), gets a new job which means they all have to leave and move out of Berlin to the country. The child does not understand what is going on and what is happening. I found this to be a moving story and one where you can see the end coming from a long way off. I believe it has been released as a movie however the imagery given to me by the reading of the book will mean I will not probably go and see it. I know that MB found this book uncomfortable to read and did not understand all of the references made regarding the fathers job, however I am sure he and I learnt a lot from reading this book. If you read this with your son I recommend that you talk through the issues raised. I give this book a 10/10.

JB

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was a very moving book. It was set in the age of WWII in Berlin with this small boy who's dad was very important in the Nazi army. All of a sudden the small boy, called Bruno, was moved with his family to a house far away from any other houses except a fence. This book is very moving . When I read it I was in Germany on holiday and I didn't really take all of the information in until I got back home. I give this book 7/10 because I thought that though I am 12 years old I never want to read another book like that ever again. This book made me feel very sad because of what happened in the story and I learnt that it is important to talk to other people or your relatives about what could be happening in the future.

MB

The Recruit by Robert Muchamore

The Recruit by Robert Muchamore

A lot of my classmates have read The Recruit and I was looking forward to reading this book as all my friends who had read the book thoroughly enjoyed it and rated it highly!

It is a very fast-moving and cleverly written with an enthralling storyline. It is so fast-moving that throughout the 322 pages there is more than one major event happening.
The main character, James Choke, starts off the story as a rebellious schoolboy and soon gets expelled and sent to a children’s home where he has more than one meeting with the police! Soon CHERUB picks him up and he goes on training to become a top, young agent.

This book shows all the characters feelings very well and it also captures a lot about the way the author feels about modern school children, how they behave and how they feel about different occasions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, just like my classmates, and look forward to reading the rest of the series. Fantastic! 10/10!!

By Charles Standen

The Recruit is the first in, what is currently, a nine volume series of books written by Robert Muchamore. The story follows the adventures of James Choke, a rather unfit and generally disinterested young man, who is performing indifferently at school and is in danger of sliding into a life of crime.

The tragic death of his mother sees James sent to a children’s home. This brings with it an unexpected opportunity to join a shadowy government organisation know as ‘Cherub’ that uses children as spies. The book follows James’ induction into the organisation and the very tough training that turns him from a teenage tearaway, to a responsible and focussed individual, capable of being a ‘teenage spy’.

The latter half of the book follows James on his first mission, in which he is required to team up with another member of ‘Cherub’ to join, and spy on, a commune of eco-protesters in the hope of identifying some eco-terrorists within the organisation. I will not spoil the story, suffice to say that James has a number of adventures and close calls before completing his mission.

The story is well written, realistic, fast paced, and an engaging tale. I know Charles enjoyed this book and has gone on to read other books in the series, and I can see why it appeals. It shows both the good and the bad aspects of a modern teenager’s life, as well as providing a good bit of adventure and escapism. I would recommend this to any teenage boy (or girl) particularly those who enjoy books of the same genre such as the Alex Rider series. Highly recommended 9/10.

Iain Standen

Antony Horowitz "Stormbreaker"

Stormbreaker is the first in series of books and I found it very interesting. It is about this boy who finds out his uncle had died in car crash because he wasn't wearing his seatbelt. But his uncle always wore a seat belt. He then gets a letter from MI6 to meet them at a secret location. He is then made a secret agent and finds out that his uncle was also working as a secret agent and that he is going to be doing the case that his uncle was doing when he was shot. Not killed in a car crash. I give this book 8/10 because it is a really good book. I now want to read all the rest of the books in the series.

MB 8D

This is an interesting book to read especially as we have read some of the young James Bond series by Charlie Higgson. I found this to be a good yarn however I thought the style was a little basic and I did not enjoy the story as much as I expected. The premise of the story is classic adventure about a boy who is orphaned and lives with his uncle who mysteriously dies. It turns out his uncle was a secret agent and he is recruited and trained to work for the secret services. I found the book enjoyable but wished for more depth in the story. I would not go out of my way to read one of these books again. I recommend you look to Charlie Higgson if you want a good secret agent yarn. 6/10

JB

Siobhan Dowd "The London Eye Mystery"

I really enjoyed this book, I literally couldn't take my eyes away from it. It is about this boy who goes up in the London Eye whilst his cousins are watching him but doesn't come back down again. Then his cousins Ted and Kat have to find him. The police can't find anything so it's up to them. They do everything possible: go back on the eye, go around London but they can't find him. I give this book 9/10 because evertime I had the chance I read it.

MB 8D

This was a fascinating book. The story is written from the point of view of a child who is from the description given autistic. It gives a clear view of how the child thinks and behaves differently from those around him and the communication struggles that he has. The story revolves around the disappearance of the lead characters cousin whilst riding the London Eye. It goes through the experience of trying to work out how this child managed to go missing from a sealed capsule. It was a very good book and the style is excellent especially in the description of the interations between the lead character and those around him who do not know how to respond to this child who in his own words is 'hard wired in a different way'. 9/10

JB

Charlie Higson 'Hurricane Gold'

Hurricane Gold was an excellent book. It is fourth in the series of young Bond books. The book is about James Bond as a boy who goes to Mexico whilst he recovers from his last adventure. His Aunt leaves him with some American friends that live in Mexico so that she can go on an expedition into the rainforest. Suddenly a storm comes and rips the house to pieces. Whilst the storm is happening a gang of criminals get into the house and threaten them with their lives. What will James do? What can he do at gun point? I give this book 8/10 because I really enjoyed reading it and also found it hard to put down.

MB 8D

I leapt into this fourth instalment with great relish and was not disappointed. Having read the three previous instalments it is obvious that Charlie Higson is getting more comfortable with this character and this style as the action certainly is described well and the cliff hangers that come along through the book are well structured and well thought out. There is of course a little bit of the fantastical about this story and some of the challenges that James and his friends and companions come up against are a little bit unbelievable however that does not detract and in one way makes it more enjoyable as it reminds you that this is just fantasy. I give this a 10/10.

JB

Joshua Doder "Grk and the Hot dog trail"

Grk is the name of a dog who manages to get himself and his owners into a lot of trouble. This is the second book in the grk series. I have to admit that I did quite enjoy this story. It is an easy read and does not take itself too seriously. The story is easy to follow although a bit far fetched at times. It is written for a childrens audience however it does not patronise and makes you think by questioning the reader on their knowledge from time to time. I would recommend this for kids who like a bit of action and adventure in theri lives especially when the story could have happened to anyone. I give this book a 7/10
JB

Grk and the hot dog trail is the second book in the series. I thought this book was really fun to read because it was for people a bit lower than my age group but still a really good book. It was about his boy called Tim and a dog called Grk that are in New York for a holiday. Suddenly a priceless golden statue of a Daschund is stolen from a museum they had gone to the day before. Tim has the vital clue to the whole case and jumps into action cycling from the Big Apple to Brooklyn just to follow a van that he knew would be the suspect. He finds out that the van is going to a sausage factory that is guarded like a fort. But why would a sausage factory be guarded like a fort? I give this book 7/10 because it was a book that kept you on your toes.
MB 8D